Pavement sinking on Hull Road crossing

Contractor to repair problem

By Dianne Stallings

dstallings@ruidosonews.com @RuidosoNews on Twitter

Posted:
07/26/2013 02:43:43 PM MDT

Motorists using the new Cedar Creek crossing on Hull Road have expressed alarm over pavement cracking and settling on the recently elevated roadway. Ruidoso Street Director J.R. Baumann said there is no danger. (Dianne Stallings/Ruidoso News)

The pavement on the new crossing over Cedar Creek on Hull Road was cracking in several places and sinking in others Friday.

Chunks of compacted material on the side of the road also sank or fell away from supports.

But Ruidoso Street Director J. R. Baumann said the situation is not dangerous.

"We have some settlement issues," he said when contacted mid-day Friday. "I will meet with the contractor, Century Club Construction, on Monday or Tuesday. The job still is under warranty. They will come back. There is no danger of a collapse."

During construction, Baumann told village councilors that additional material had to be purchased to stabilize the soil under the box culvert used to create the crossing for a total cost of $308,718. However, he said Friday it isn't the culvert showing settlement problems, it's the road, which may be affected by heavy precipitation over the past few weeks

The culvert, which was reused after serving as a temporary bridge across the Rio Ruidoso after a July 2008 flood, raised the road several feet near the intersection with Paradise Canyon.

Village councilors pushed hard for the crossing construction work to be finished for Memorial Day, traditionally a heavy tourist weekend and a time when many second homeowners arrive for the summer. The project took less than two months to complete.